Black-winged Lapwing ( Vanellus melanopterus, family: Charadriidae)
Birds & Birding in the Kruger National Park South Africa. In Roberts 6 this bird was called Black-winged Plover
The Black-winged Lapwing (Latin name Vanellus melanopterus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 257 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 415 also a picture of the Black-winged Lapwing on page 385. The Black-winged Lapwing belongs to the family of birds classified as Charadriidae.
In the previous edition of Roberts (ie 6th edition) the Black-winged Lapwing was called the Black-winged Plover
The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps
The Black-winged Lapwing is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.
In terms of distribution of the Black-winged Lapwing in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Black-winged Lapwing has been recorded in only 1 sections of the arbitrary Kruger Park regions I selected.
Identification assistance for this avian species ...
The Black-winged Lapwing is a bird about the same size as a starling. The height of the Black-winged Lapwing is about 27 cms and its weight is about 190 gms
The male and female Black-winged Lapwing have the same plumage and colours
- Head is grey.
- Eye is yellow.
- Bill is black.
- Throat is grey.
- Back is grey.
- Legs are purple.
This bird has normally proportioned leg length.
Main diet items for this bird ...
The Black-winged Lapwing feeds on the ground mainly
Invertebrates
Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...
The Black-winged Lapwing is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Vanellus melanopterus will seek out a new mate
The nesting habit of Black-winged Lapwing is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are green in colour and number between 1 to 4
Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...
The preferred habitats for Black-winged Lapwing are: grasslands
You will normally see the Black-winged Lapwing in flocks.
Names of this avian species in other languages ...
Xhosa ... Igxiya
Zulu ... iHoye/iTitihoye
Afrikaans ...Grootswartvlerkkiewiet
German ... Schwarzflgelkiebitz
Portuguese ... Abibe-d'asa-negra
French ... Vanneau ailes noires
Dutch ... Zwartvleugelkievit
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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...
Robert's 7th edition number ... 257
The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za
